Effects of COVID-Induced Mobility Restrictions and Weather Conditions on Air Quality in Hungary

Atmosphere

Adrienn Varga-Balogh¹  Ádám Leelőssy¹  Róbert Mészáros¹ 

[1] Department of Meteorology, Eötvös Loránd University, H-1117 Budapest, Hungary;

关键词: urban air quality;    traffic emission;    Hungary;    COVID;    PM₁₀;    NO_x;   

DOI  :  10.3390/atmos12050561

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Similarly to other countries, the first wave of the COVID pandemic induced a collapse of mobility in Hungary during the spring of 2020. From the environmental perspective, the obtained road traffic reduction of 20–50% could be regarded as an undesired traffic regulation experiment. Air quality impacts within Hungary were evaluated based on data from 52 monitoring sites measuring concentrations of pollutants NO_x, O_3, and PM₁₀. Air pollution during the lockdown was compared to the same period (February–June) in the reference years 2014–2019. The large spatial heterogeneity of the air quality response was explored. The emission reduction coincided with the extreme weather of 2020, characterized by unusually warm pre-lockdown February and spring drought. The anomalously low pre-lockdown air pollution was further reduced (NO_x) or increased (PM₁₀) during the restrictions. Compared to the previous years, NO_x concentrations during the curfew were found to differ between −4.1 and +0.2 standard deviations (median −1.55 SD), or −45% and +3% (median −18%) among different monitoring locations. Ozone concentrations were unusually high due to both weather and chemical reasons (median +11% or +0.8 SD), while the PM₁₀ response was modest and largely weather-driven (median +7% or +0.4 SD).

【 授权许可】

Unknown